Not Sure Whether It Counts as Living

"Laugh..."

With a soft sound, the murky purple flames burning over Fang Li's body began to slowly extinguish.

Only Fang Li remained, lying on the ground, his skin charred black from the burns, a truly pitiful sight.

At that moment, Fang Li had only one feeling.

----"pain".

It hurts a lot.

My body is in pain.

The soul is also in pain.

Waves of intense pain assaulted Fang Li's mind and nerves, making Fang Li as if he had been thrown onto a mountain of knives in hell, suffering unbearable agony.

My vision has begun to blur.

My head is starting to feel foggy.

This feeling brought back memories for Fang Li.

He recalled his own death when he first entered the Main God Space.

Although there was no blood staining my vision, the pain that swept through my body was far greater than the pain of being hit by a car.

"... Am I about to die?"

With this thought in mind, Fang Li's pair of Ice-Blue Demon Eyes quietly faded, leaving only a pair of incredibly dark eyes.

Inside, it was extremely calm.

In the next instant, several auras entered Fang Li's perception.

Without even seeing it with their own eyes, Fang Li knew whose aura it was.

Who else could it be besides the Three Pillars?

"That really took a lot of effort..."

With his body swaying precariously, Shudenan, carrying his steel gun, approached Fang Li.

"I must say, we completely underestimated you, human."

Belphegor, with broken chains wrapped around her body, also came before Fang Li, blood still dripping from the corner of her mouth.

The remaining Hecate held her Triangular Censer Staff in one hand and clutched her chest with the other, gazing at Fang Li lying Fang Li, his body charred black, yet she clearly saw the emotion in his eyes.

There was no panic, no fear, only an incomprehensible calm.

Seeing the incomprehensible calm, Hecate couldn't help but speak.

"Why?"

Hecate spoke in a voice filled with longing and confusion, as if she were searching for something.

Why are you able to face death so calmly?

The sudden question startled both Shudenan and Belphegor.

As for Fang Li, he turned his gaze to Hecate and said in a casual tone, "You should understand, right?"

Indeed, Hecate understood.

Because Hecate is the only one who has seen the true nature of Fang Li's soul.

Anyone who has seen that ocean formed from death cannot help but understand why Fang Li was able to face death so calmly.

It's simply because Fang Li has seen and even possessed far too many of these beings, to the point that he is completely unable to feel any emotion towards them.

All living beings take "habit" for granted.

Just like eating, no one is surprised that they need to eat.

For Fang Li, understanding death is as natural as eating.

If that's the case, why panic or be afraid?

Hecate, who had seen that vast ocean, should understand this.

However, Hecate simply didn't understand.

"Even if you're alive, can you really be considered alive?"

Hecate spoke softly, Ru Qing in someone.

"Compared to the death you possess, your personal survival is far too insignificant."

How insignificant are we?

It's not surprising that someone so insignificant can be swallowed up at any time.

Hecate couldn't even understand why Fangli had been able to survive to this day, Fang Li that ocean filled with death.

No, that's not right.

It should be said that Fang Li has been able to survive until now because he possesses that ocean.

If that ocean were too small, Fang Li, who couldn't get used to it, would probably be tormented by the pain and despair of death, wishing he were dead.

It is precisely because that ocean is so vast, so vast that it is filled with so much death that people become accustomed to it and numb to it, that they have been able to ignore the pain and despair of death and survive until now.

But can that be considered living?

"That's nothing but a walking corpse..."

Hearing Hecate's whisper, Fang Li finally smiled.

"Perhaps," Fang Li said calmly.

"While this is indeed a flaw, I am otherwise completely without fault as a 'human being.'"

So, I can be considered alive.

"As for you, I don't know if you count."

Hecate immediately fell silent.

yes.

Fang Li is at least still alive.

At least, Fang Li was very rich in emotions, except for death.

He cannot feel sadness about death, but he can feel joy about the life of others.

He cannot cry for someone's pain and despair, but he can respond to someone's feelings and intentions.

In this way, Fang Li would be considered alive.

"But you're different."

Fang Li spoke indifferently, as if he were talking about someone else's business.

"It will neither laugh nor cry."

"Without emotion, and without a heart."

"All that's left is emptiness, a lack of genuine feeling of being alive, and nothing you want to do. You're just blindly following the predetermined reality. Even your position as the Great Miko of the ' Bal Masqué ' was merely an arrangement by the Alliance Leader, not your own wish."

"So, someone like you doesn't even know if you're alive."

Fang Li's words silenced Hecate once again, her eyes revealing an uncontrollable turmoil.

"Clang—!"

At that moment, a heavy steel gun, with the sound of steel clanging, was swung in front of Fang Li, its sharp muzzle pointed at his throat.

"Hey..." Shudenan looked down at Fang Li and said in a voice that suppressed his anger, "Could you please not say anything unpleasant to my Hecate?"

"Hecate is very important to us, so please don't let her waver." Belphegor Fang Li were talking about someone else, saying nonchalantly, "You human are dangerous in every sense of the word. It seems we need to rethink how to treat you."

With that, Belphegor turned around and said this to Shudenan.

"General, please take him back. We will personally guard him from now on and make sure he can never escape again."

One sentence decided Fang Li's fate.

In that instant, a cold, mechanical notification sounded in Fang Li's mind.

"Number 11273 triggers A-Class Side Mission: Survival in Desperate Circumstances".

"Mission objective: Escape from the clutches of the Three Pillars before being recaptured, leave the ' Bal Masqué ' base, and escape to safety."

"Task Reward: 30,000 Exchange Points"